I’m more excited for this year’s RSA Conference than any before. Not because I’ll have my fair share of amazing Mexican food on Cinco de Mayo and our annual CYBERTACOS networking event on back-to-back days. But I’m extremely bullish about this year’s theme – ‘The Art of Possible.’ It hits the nail on the head with what we’re all experiencing – chief information security officers (CISOs), cybersecurity marketers and PR professionals alike.
However, the topic’s greater meaning is under the surface. When you break this down to what it really equates to in today’s marketplace, it’s pretty simple – critical thinking at critical moments in time.
We’re entering an important moment in time for CISOs, their security teams, marketers and the communications firms they partner with. CISOs have always had to justify their spend. However, they are now entering a critical moment where cybersecurity tool consolidation is no longer a want, but a requirement from the CFO and boards of directors. This is putting added pressure on cyber brands’ marketing departments to crystallize their value propositions to remain relevant in the eyes of CISOs and their teams.
Cybersecurity brand marketers are facing enormous pressure to thread the needle when it comes to articulating how the brand value prop can address emerging customer challenges. Enter the PR professionals supporting this always exciting and dynamic industry – folks tasked with making sense of it all, connecting the dots and telling a cohesive story that will resonate with CISOs and journalists.
What do each set of stakeholders have in common here? They all must be critical thinkers to navigate this critical moment in time. Critical thinking is what makes a good CISO a great CISO, an average cyber marketing team a successful cyber marketing team, and a PR pro a true PR partner to business stakeholders that helps build bridges to the CISO.
We all know the RSA Conference can be a noise machine, but it also can serve as a key moment where critical thinking and critical discussions can lead to amazing long-term outcomes. And those look different for every cybersecurity brand – in the form of number of media briefings, quality of briefings, communication strategy meetings, hard hitting op-eds and more.
We’re busy at work gearing up for what is going to be a truly amazing RSA Conference 2024. Best of luck to everyone busily preparing for this critical moment in time. We look forward to seeing you all there and – shameless plug – we hope you can stop by our CYBERTACOS event that Monday evening of the conference. Interested in attending? Register here.